Play Therapy

Play Therapy
Name
Institution

Play Therapy
The use of self in therapeutic play is a significant therapy whose aim is to reduce behavior and emotional challenges that negatively influence the normal function of a child. Play therapy, according to Blanco et al. (2017) and Hashemi et al. (2018), aims at enhancing communication and understanding between a child and their parents. As a child, my favorite play was hide and seek. Together with other children, we would engage in this play for hours both at school and at home. I had a lot of toys growing up, but my favorite ones were Aladdin and Jasmine Barbie dolls. To enjoy playing, my parents, especially my mum helped me enjoy my favorite games by assuming some roles. She assumed the role of an authority figure, like police, where I would report someone who did anything wrong to me. My play was influenced by a social culture which assigns gender to given games. There were some sports which my parents and siblings frowned upon when I wanted to try. My play was influenced by a social culture which assigns gender to given games. There were some sports which my parents and siblings frowned upon when I wanted to try.
As a lover of hiding and seek, I think I enjoyed the cooperative stage of play. I would spend a lot of time with other children and enjoy the game since I cannot play it alone. Two therapeutic factors are evident from hiding and seek, group cohesion and interpersonal learning. With the therapeutic benefits, it is evident that my life as an adult was influenced by the games I play since I enjoy working in a group and also have excellent interpersonal communication.

Sometimes it is a challenge to implement group cohesion when a situation calls for individual thinking. As a future therapeutic player, I will encourage children to engage in various games within their disposal. Falling in love with a single game may affect them.

References
Blanco, P., Holliman, R., Muro, J., Toland, S., & Farnam, J. (2017). Long-Term Child-Centered Play Therapy Effects on Academic Achievement with Normal Functioning Children. Journal of Child & Family Studies, 26(7), 1915–1922.
Hashemi, M., Banijamali, S. Sadat, & Khosravi, Z. (2018). The efficacy of short-term play therapy for children in reducing symptoms of ADHD. Middle East Journal of Family Medicine, 16(4), 76–84.